Health
Scientists find chronic stress can override junk food ‘off switch’ in mouse brains
Heading to the vending machine for an urgent snack when your work deadline is approaching, or craving something sweet when your worries pile up?
Feeling stressed is often accompanied by cravings for junk food. And there are scientific reasons for this.
In a mouse study published in the journal neuronScientists at the Garvan Institute of Medicine in Sydney have found that stress can cause changes in the brain that can lead to unhealthy habits and weight gain.
However, it’s important to remember that human issues are more complex, and trying to limit what you eat can be counterproductive, especially during stressful times.
Why do we eat when we are stressed?
Eating a tasty treat activates your brain’s reward system and helps you feel calmer.
Professor Herbert Herzog is a visiting fellow in the Eating Disorders Laboratory at the Garvan Institute and the lead author of the study.
He explains that in stressful situations, healthy foods don’t provide as much reward gain as crisps and candy.
“because [junk food] It contains a lot of sugar and fat and is easy to digest. Therefore, enhancing feelings of reward may help people cope better with stress,” said Herzog. abc radio sydney.
Clinical psychologist Louise Adams of Untrapped Academy says it makes a lot of sense to look for foods that give you pleasure during difficult times.
Growing up in Australia’s prevalent food culture, many of us feel guilty about almost everything we eat and always try to eat the ‘right’ way,” says Dr Adams. .
In stressful situations, we are more likely to let go of some of our self-imposed rules.
“When we’re stressed, it’s easy for us to lose control over food, because we’re constantly trying to get our heads around food,” says Dr. Adams.
What effect does stress have on the brain?
Professor Herzog explains that our brains naturally regulate our intake of sugary and fatty foods.
“When we eat too much unhealthy food, which is usually high in sugar, we have the right processes in place. In fact, the brain has mechanisms in place to say, ‘Well, enough is enough,’” he says. say.
This is called the anti-reward system, scientifically speaking, in a brain area called the lateral habenula nucleus.
“So the brain tries to take the pleasure out of eating these kinds of things.” [foods]says Professor Herzog.
However, they found that when mice were paired and stressed by placing them in ice-cold cages for 1 hour, this natural off-switch was not activated.
Herzog believes the same thing happens in humans because the neural pathways involved are very similar and the key molecules are identical.
What does this mean for human health?
Scientists worry that chronic stress can lead to increased intake of comfort foods and weight gain.
In a Garvan Institute study, stressed mice ate twice as much as relaxed mice and gained twice as much weight.
In this mouse, scientists intervened to block molecules produced by stress, resulting in the mice eating less.
But that is not an option for humans.
Herzog’s advice is to try to keep your stress levels as low as possible, but he admits this is easier said than done.
You don’t have to feel guilty for a ‘fully human’ response
Professor Herzog says it’s important to be aware of the amount and type of food you eat when you’re stressed.
“Ideally, stick to the fresh fruit section in your supermarket and avoid the snack section,” he says.
But Dr. Adams believes we need to rethink our relationship with food and stop feeling guilty about it.
“It’s important to emphasize that during stressful times, it’s perfectly human and understandable to do something that brings you joy,” she says.
“The problem is that when it’s judged too quickly and you start feeling guilty about it, that whole cycle of restriction actually starts all over again.”
she advocates intuitive diet — Focus on your body’s needs and desires for food and enjoy everything you eat.
Even in the mice studied, Dr. Adams reconstructs their behavior as an “evolutionary triumph.”
“Even in stressful situations, you can still find joy in doing something great,” she says.
Weight gain in rodents is also “evolutionarily beneficial,” Adams said, “because the rodent body helps store calories and energy and can actually perform behaviors such as scheming and escaping.” rice field.
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